In the busy world of today, parents, grandparents and babysitters struggle to change their babies, while at work, while shopping, while traveling, while at play, and while engaged in athletic activities common to this hectic, modern era.
The caregiver presently uses a large tote bag for storing the many items needed to diaper and make comfortable the infant. The tote bag is often clumsy and inefficient. The presently used totes offer no consideration of or protection from potential health risks. Items like diapers and wipes needed to change the baby at remote locations, are intermixed with car keys, pens, tissues, wallets and other personal articles of the adult. These items, alone, can contribute to the health risks of the infant.
After struggling to locate all of the needed items during a diaper change, the parent is also faced with the problem of where to place a smelly baby. Placing a moist baby on a blanket or car seat is not very efficient. In a work place or at an athletic event, finding a convenient table, bench or space to position the baby for a diaper change is often discovered to be a scarce commodity, and very unsanitary, at best.
It is often difficult and inconvenient to find the immediate item needed, when searching and rummaging through a sea of extraneous articles in presently designed tote bags.
The present invention seeks to provide a tote bag or carrying article that organizes all of the needed baby items into easily located compartments or pockets for effortless access. The invention provides a safe, protected environment which is healthy and infection free. The invention also provides a space in which the baby itself can safely rest while the parent locates the diapering needs and attends to the diaper changing operation. The infant never comes into contact with foreign germs left behind by other infants. The sides of the article offer environmental (wind/sun) protection to the baby. In this way, the baby can be cared for (e.g., fed, changed, washed, dressed, entertained, etc.).
The compartments holding the diaper items are disposed inside of the tote bag. The liner of the tote bag comprises a layer of flexible, tough material. A draw string runs through the liner along a peripheral edge thereof. After the articles have been placed in their individual pockets, the draw string is pulled and the bag is ready to move to a remote location.
The compartments are individually shaped and sized to accommodate a particular baby item. Each compartment is stitched or thermally welded into the inner bag lining. Each compartment is designed to hold a specific item needed by the parent or adult custodian. For example, baby bottles are contained within an elongated pocket that is both waterproof and thermally insulated. Wallets and car keys are disposed in rectangular compartments as befits their shape and size. Moreover, such non-baby items could also be easily accessed from the outside of the closed bag.
All of the compartments have a transparent, plastic window so that each stored article is easily observable and recognized at a glance. The plastic window can form at least a portion of the pocket when the bag is deployed (opened). The bag contains compartments for other items, such as diapers, powder, lotion, toys, cleansing fabrics, towelettes and baby clothing.
The tote bag of this invention easily opens into an area, wherein all of the items needed by the infant caregiver present themselves to a presentation view. The circumference of the bag can be rigid to form a bowl-shaped structure to protect the infant from wind and to prevent pocket contents from spilling or rolling out. All of the pockets are circumferentially disposed about a center portion of the bag interior. The center portion is designed as a sanitary, safe, viewable resting place for baby during changing, and while the parent is busy extracting the needed items for diapering. The center portion is padded to provide comfort for the baby, and lined with a replaceable layer of vinyl to provide a waterproof surface. The center portion is provided with a built-in pillow.